This Year's Girl
by BDewitt
Summary: Johanna's messing around in Beetee's labratory and Katniss tries to stop her. Instead, the switch bodies and have to figure out a way to keep it a secret as he works on a cure. Mockingjay setting, Joniss! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

There was little to celebrate in 13. Their lives were drab, the surroundings were drab, the people were drab. Johanna had been stifling underneath the yoke of structure since landing on her back in the hospital after being rescued from the Capitol. The only, very brief, highlights of her day were the times she got to use an axe in training (she hated the guns) and the small time she spent with Finnick. A very close third, though, was antagonizing her new roommate, the unflappable Katniss Everdeen.

She had so gallantly offered to be Johanna's roommate in a move that while helpful, made Johanna feel like she was in Katniss's debt. Which was a ridiculous thought considering what she had been through to protect Katniss in the Quell. So in an effort to even out the score, Johanna took to antagonizing Katniss at almost every chance she got. So as she stood in their room now, watching the heat rise in Katniss's cheeks, she couldn't help but grin. "Some leader of the rebellion. Can't even get undressed in the same room with another girl."

Katniss scoffed and ran her fingers through her hair angrily. "Not everyone likes to strut around naked."

"It's called _asserting your dominance_. You should try it sometime. Sometime when you're not too busy milking this 'I'm too young and innocent and all I want is to save my boyfriend' thing." Katniss balled her fists at her side and Johanna tilted her head. "What, like I'm wrong? You've barely laid a finger down for this rebellion and everyone is busy lining up to shine your shoes. It's appalling."

"I didn't ask for this," Katniss contested hotly.

"Too bad!" Johanna yelled, tossing her skinny arms in the air. "This is your life, whether you like it or not. People are looking to you to stick it to Snow. So you can do better than feeling sorry for yourself half the damn time."

"You want to be the Mockingjay? They wouldn't have to feed you lines."

"True but no one likes me. They like you. For reasons I cannot see." Katniss scowled at Johanna who merely smirked in response. They were far removed from the arena but it felt like only yesterday she stared into Johanna's distrustful brown eyes and had only taken her on as an ally because of Finnick. She hadn't known, then, that Johanna was on her side. Though most of the time it still felt like she wasn't.

"Is that why you hate me?" she asked to Johanna's turned back.

There was a pregnant pause before Johanna responded. "Partly," Johanna admitted without turning around. Her arms folded across her chest. "Jealousy is certainly involved."

_Jealousy_? That was new. There was nothing about Katniss she felt anyone would be jealous of. _Not particularly pretty _mutt-Peeta had said. _Not a leader _Coin had told her. _Distrustful and kind of stupid _Haymitch had said. Even Finnick, her only ally outside of Gale, whose world was falling apart with Annie in the Capitol, had thought she was weak.

"Jealous of what?"

Johanna turned around exasperated, similarly to how she had whipped around in the elevator, shooting Katniss a look of disdain. "Forget it, brainless."

* * *

><p>Going to Beetee's workshop was one of the things Katniss actually enjoyed about living in District 13. Before Peeta had been returned from the Capitol he seemed to be the only one that understood her confusion, her anger, her betrayal. Haymitch was supportive but the trust had been broken; all she had wanted was to see Peeta come back alive. He had promised. Instead she was rescued and Peeta and Johanna were captured and tortured.<p>

The latter girl had, despite agreeing to be her roommate and them helping each other in training, been trying to get on her nerves for weeks. It was as if she had made a sport out of embarrassing Katniss or trying to piss her off. She'd talk about her torture, about Peeta's screams, about how spoiled Katniss was by the Capitol at almost every turn. She had wanted to become friends with the girl but Johanna seemed singularly determined to keep her at a distance.

So Beetee was a welcome respite from the constant nag of President Coin and Plutarch breathing down her neck. It was a safe place where she could try new bows and shoot with Gale. It was almost like home. It was time to give herself pause and get down to what she really was. Not some leader, not a Mockingjay, not a rebel; just a girl with a bow and arrow and a family to protect.

Her stamp indicated that for a few hours after breakfast, and before her dreaded Mockingjay meeting, she'd be able to spend time with Beetee in the meadow. She was excited to finally have something to look forward to. She was less excited to find that her roommate was already there when she arrived. As Katniss opened the door to the makeshift meadow he had created she was greeted to Johanna and Beetee in a somewhat heated argument. Typical.

"Johanna, I insist you give that back to me!" Beetee was rolling his wheelchair towards Johanna who was easily dodging him as she ran around with some metal contraption in her hand. She was holding it high above her head which was cruelly unnecessary since Beetee couldn't stand out of his chair to begin with.

"Or what, Wheels? You'll roll me to death?" Johanna teased with her hand still high in the air. Gale was nowhere to be seen but he was often called for actual rebellion needs while Coin knew Katniss was only important until the rebellion was over. Johanna, on the other hand, was a boon to no one. She didn't care to throw her support behind Coin and she certainly hated the Capitol. Katniss so envied Johanna's ability to simply skim along life and not worry about offending anyone. The path there - the loss of her family, her friends, the destruction of her district, the prostitution - was not enviable, of course, but the fact that she did as she pleased was something Katniss wanted.

Beetee looked at her sternly. "Johanna that is a very unstable, very dangerous piece of equipment." Even Beetee, in his infinite patience for Wiress and the slowness of others, was tiring of Johanna's abrasive attitude.

Johanna clipped the metal in her hand and raised an eyebrow. "It looks like a can opener, Volts."

"I assure you it is not a can opener. It is a highly sophisticated mechanism that should not be in the wrong hands." He looked toward Katniss, pleading in his eyes.

Katniss looked over at Johanna who merely smirked. She could see the expression in her eyes: _Go ahead, brainless. Try me_. Katniss sighed and took a few steps toward her. "C'mon, Johanna. Give it back to Beetee. It's not an axe, why do you want it anyway?"

Johanna shrugged. "Because he was so fucking insistent on keeping it away from me. Trying to shove it in a drawer when I got in here like he was looking at pictures of nude girls." Katniss barely hid a smirk and Beetee rolled his eyes and let out another very loud sigh. "And he won't tell me what it does."

Katniss brought her gaze to Beetee warily. "What does it do?"

He leveled his eyes at her from over the top of his glasses. "You don't want to find out. We don't even know if it works. The plan was to get some of those manufactured Capitol chimps in here and try it on them. There's no way it can be tried on humans yet."

Johanna grinned at Katniss. "See? Doesn't that sound interesting?" Katniss went forward to try and take the contraption from Johanna who wrenched it out of her grip. "Oh come on, _Mockingjay_." The way Johanna used that term, derisively, spitting it out like it was some kind of wretched curse word, irked Katniss more than it should. Most things about Johanna irked her more than they should.

And for Johanna, it was always a joy to get a rise out of Katniss. This pampered girl with no idea of what the real world entailed who wore the burden of rebellion like a funeral shroud, Johanna loved getting under her skin. "Just put it down," Katniss said in a low growl, causing Johanna to pause in her dance to get away and raise her eyebrow.

"Oh really? Or what? Or you'll shoot me with your bow and arrow? Tell Coin on me? Tell your mutt boyfriend to attack me?" Johanna knew she was getting Katniss's blood to boil as her usual stoic appearance showed signs of twitching anger. "Or tell your not-crazy boyfriend-cousin and get my lack of privileges taken away? Or maybe you'll just do it yourself?"

Katniss lunged forward and grabbed Johanna's wrist that held the contraption. Johanna looked momentarily impressed before getting angry again. Beetee's shout of "no!" was unheard as the two women grappled for control of the metal piece in her hand. After a struggle ensued for a few moments their hands seemed to clasp together like a magnet.

Johanna's eyes widened in concern as neither of them could get free. The contraption buzzed and pulsed between them, sending vibrations through their bones. A very small glowing blue light emitted from the steel between them before it shot outward and they were propelled a few feet on to their backs.

Beetee rolled over to Katniss and peered down at her as she coughed. He went to placed his hand on her bicep to help her up and she wrenched away from him. "Don't fucking touch me." Beetee's eyes went wide as Katniss's eyes also enlarged about twice their size. She looked down at her body, then back up at Beetee. She scrambled back a few feet and hit a wall, using it to raise herself back on her feet. "Oh. Shit."

On the other side of the room Beetee watched as Johanna got to her feet and wobbled unsteadily for a moment. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at Katniss. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Katniss shrieked. "_You_ came at _me_!"

Beetee looked between them both and suddenly there was clarity in his eyes. And, because of his love of science, a hint of pride. "It worked."

Katniss, or rather Johanna, shot him an angry look. It was interesting to see Johanna's anger in Katniss's gray eyes. "What worked? Volts I swear to fuck..."

Beetee rolled his wheelchair over to the control panel and smacked a few buttons around. Soon a diagram of the steel piece they had used came up. Both girls approached the screen awkwardly, giving each other glances out of the corner of their eyes. He looked between them. "Well, it was ...an experimental device. You see, there's this theory that your soul, shall we say, is a physical thing. It's a tangible part of you, like your immune system or nervous system. There are ancient scriptures dating back thousands of years that talk of the soul as a physical part of the being. It exists on a quantum level. At least, in theory it does. And as evidenced by what I assume is a radical shift in personalities, the theory holds water."

"In fucking English, Volts, or I will make you a quadriplegic." Beetee watched as Katniss, in Johanna's body, looked horrified at the words coming out of her mouth.

Beetee took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Essentially? You've switched bodies. Johanna," he looked at Katniss's body, "you are now in charge of Katniss's body. You look like her, sound like her. To everyone on the outside, you _are_ her." He looked to Katniss in Johanna's body. "And you're Johanna."

"But I'm still me," Katniss protested, hearing her voice come out high like Johanna's. "I feel like Katniss."

"Well you look like shit," Johanna replied. Katniss raised her eyebrow. Was that meant as an insult to herself? She shook her head and then paused in her movement. Her hair. Johanna had soft curls that hung around the tops of her head but didn't extend passed her ears. That would take some getting used to.

Beetee cleared his throat. "Either way, I will start immediately on fixing this but neither of you are to tell anyone." He looked at Katniss. "You must pretend to be Johanna. And more importantly," he turned his wheelchair around to face Johanna, "you must be convincing as Katniss. If President Coin were to find out her Mockingjay was now being controlled by another person... I fear for what she would do to you both."

"And to you," Johanna replied. A small smirk appeared on her features as she looked over toward Katniss. It was bizarre but, she almost didn't recognize herself. The fear and trepidation and annoyance in her own eyes looked so distinctly Katniss. It was mind-blowing. "I get to prance around Thirteen like I own the place? I get to wander in and out of training and then wonder why Coin doesn't want me to go to the Capitol?"

Katniss placed her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "I get to have a bad attitude and parade around naked and cover up my loneliness with rage?" Johanna's eyes, well _her eyes_, squinted at her in anger. Katniss stepped forward to herself and shook her head. "You have no idea what you're getting into. You can't just do whatever you want. You are _me_. You are my sister's sister. My mother's daughter."

Johanna rolled her eyes. "Relax, Twelve. I'm not gonna go tell your sister about the birds and the bees. I had a family once too, you know." Katniss's angry gaze softened. "Before my_ loneliness was covered in rage._"

Beetee coughed once more and looked between the two girls. "Johanna this will be much harder for you. Despite whatever you believe, Katniss is integral to the operations here. Her presence and input is required for almost every important event regarding this district and the rebellion itself. You won't just need to be present; you will need to make everyone believe you're Katniss."

Johanna scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please. Like it'll be hard to sit there and act like the world is on my shoulders." Johanna moved Katniss's face into a stoic expression, eyes wide. "We have to save Peeta." Beetee rubbed his mouth to prevent a smile. A grin broke out on her features. "Did I nail it?"

"Fuck you."

Johanna smirked. "You've got me down already." Katniss begrudgingly smiled at Johanna who flashed her a brief appreciative smile in response. She looked to Beetee. "How fast can you remedy this? Because to be honest I do not want to be making googly eyes at the fucking baker for the next few weeks." She waggled her eyebrows. "The cousin on the other hand. Might have to pay him a visit."

Katniss opened her mouth to object but she was suddenly stricken with an odd feeling. As she stared at herself she felt her blood pressure rise. Though it was like looking in a mirror, the internal feelings felt different. There was no comforting sense of familiarity, or even the loathsome self-deprecation. There was something weird. Something that felt like nausea? Did Johanna really hate her that much?

Johanna looked down at Katniss's arm and shrugged her shoulders. "Looks like it's lunch and then some weapons training." Suddenly her eyes got very wide in a panic. "I can't shoot a fucking bow and arrow. Not like she can. York's gonna know immediately that something is up. And we both know she can't throw an axe to save her life. Literally."

Katniss looked mildly offended but overall, Johanna wasn't wrong. Their strengths were very different. Would their bodies over-ride their minds? Would her body intrinsically know how to shoot a bow? "Why don't you practice here for a second?" Beetee guided his wheelchair over to the table and picked up Katniss's bow. Katniss went toward it but Johanna intercepted and snatched it.

Katniss moved off to the side next to Beetee as Johanna began to get comfortable with the bow. She loaded an arrow and Beetee brought up a few simple targets across the room. With impressive precision Johanna began taking down the targets one by one. Beetee made the obstacles progressively harder but Johanna continued to nail each one.

Katniss watched and felt that stirring of nausea deep down in her stomach. The kind of nausea you get when you're so hungry your stomach invades itself? A hunger. She looked at Beetee as he watched Johanna shoot. "So I guess this means that our bodies are still kind of the same?" Beetee nodded. "Like, what we're feeling when we do something or see something is ...what she would actually feel."

Beetee nodded his head and looked up at Katniss, who looked rather worried. "Yes it would seem so. Are you feeling something strange?"

Katniss shook her head, again feeling strange without the curtain of hair or her braid weight her head down. "No no, not at all. Just wondering."

He looked at her over his glasses and shifted his chair so he was facing Katniss. "I know this is extremely unfortunate and I promise to fix this as soon as I can. But um, your feelings and any side effects that you may face would be extremely beneficial to me. I know I probably won't be able to rely on Johanna for help so if you could check back in every once in a while that would be greatly appreciated."

"Sure." Katniss looked down at Johanna's arm for her schedule and saw nothing. She rolled her eyes. Typical. She was sure Johanna had to be somewhere so she walked over to her and grabbed her arm. Johanna whirled around and wrenched her arm free, giving Katniss a scowl. "Look, I have to go to a meeting with Haymitch and Plutarch before lunch. I mean, well, you do. You have to...take..my person there." Johanna smirked, well, Katniss watched her own face smirk and it was remarkable how Johanna her own face looked. _Eyes are the window to the soul _she had heard somewhere, a long time ago. It seemed true enough as she stared into her own gray eyes she saw Johanna.

Johanna tossed the bow haphazardly on the floor and held out her forearm. "Yeah, brainless, I know. I can read." She rolled her eyes and brushed passed Katniss to make her way toward the meeting room. She had never been allowed to attend these meetings so on the inside, she was a little pumped.

* * *

><p>She realized quickly there was no reason to be pumped. These meetings were as dry as wallpaper paste and Johanna quickly fell asleep in her chair, her boots propped up on the meeting table. "Katniss!" she heard someone whisper and she groggily opened her eyes and looked around for the Mockingjay.<p>

_Oh wait, that's me. _Johanna looked over at Haymitch. "Hm?"

He leaned forward, pale blue eyes wide. "President Coin asked you a question." His look screamed _'What the hell is wrong with you?' _but Johanna ignored him and turned to Coin.

"I'm sorry, what was the question?" Johanna's voice sounded low and weird. Katniss's voice, rather. She'd have to get used to that noise. And she felt taller, it was weird.

President Coin raised her eyebrow and pursed her thin lips. "I asked, Miss Everdeen, if you had any questions regarding the plan for the newest set of propos. We think Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta's wedding is the perfect opportunity."

Johanna smiled. The wedding! She had nearly forgotten in her recent quest to make Katniss miserable. How far she and Finnick had come to a point where he could safely marry Annie? It felt like only yesterday they were sharing one last glass of wine before going into the Quell, and toward their certain deaths. "I think that sounds perfect. Actually, have you guys thought about letting Brea-" Johanna cleared her throat. "Letting Peeta make the wedding cake?" Coin and Haymitch shared a surprised look and Johanna shrugged. "I mean, he's the baker, right? Maybe it would help him. Be therapeutic or some shit."

Did Katniss say shit? Probably not, Johanna thought, but oh well. She said it now. Coin nodded, a look of ..was that impressed? on her face. "I think that's a great idea. I'll have Haymitch discuss it with his doctors. You're dismissed, Miss Everdeen."

"Yeah? That was it? Wow." Haymitch shot Johanna a look but she chose to ignore him and left the room without saying goodbye to anyone. She wandered back to her compartment where Katniss was fast asleep. Or well, herself. She watched for a few moments as her own chest rose and fell and began to feel... weird. Emotions creeped inside her brain as she looked down at herself. Guilt. A surprising feeling of anticipation, like standing on a ledge. Those didn't feel like her own emotions, they felt alien.

With a shrug she went into the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. Staring at Katniss. She stretched her face a few times; smiling, frowning, scowling. Katniss looked much prettier when she smiled. Though with what her life had been like the last two years, it's no wonder that she didn't. Without much thought she stripped off her shirt, looking down at the tanned skin. She had always been so pale it was unsettling to see her skin so darkened.

She pulled off her pants and underwear, unclasped her bra and stood in front of the mirror, totally nude. _Finally _Johanna thought to herself. Katniss was such a prude. And why? Johanna moved her body to the side, looking at her stomach, her arms, her breasts. "Shit Twelve, you're kinda hot," Johanna muttered to herself approvingly. She had always found Katniss attractive but never like this. She took a look at her hair, slightly disheveled and frowned. She should probably bathe.

She turned on the faucet of the tub and let the warm water fill the white bowl. Normally being this close to water would freak her out, but Katniss's body was so calm. Katniss hadn't gone through her torture. She wondered how much of that was inside her brain, and how much of that was just her entire body's knee-jerk reaction.

Johanna settled into the tub, tensing her body as the water hit her every pore. It was a little nerve-wracking, but it wasn't as bad as it was when she was inside her own skin. That was something she wasn't looking forward to when Beetee solved this problem. For now though, as she scrubbed her skin with the soap they provided, she could enjoy a warm bath.

* * *

><p>When she stepped out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around underneath her arms she was immediately slapped in the face. "What the fuck?" she said as she recoiled, about to strike back when she realized she was looking at herself. But the indignant anger in her eyes was all Katniss.<p>

"You ...you..."

"I took a bath, Everdeen, calm down." Katniss widened her eyes at hearing her own voice call herself Everdeen. "You were kinda ripe."

Johanna watched amusedly as Katniss made her face contort into offense. She wasn't sure the last time she had actually even been offended. "You..you had to do something weird! This is bizarre enough without you in there and me thinking about..."

"About what?" Johanna challenged, raising an eyebrow. "About me seeing you naked?" Johanna asked in a scandalized voice. "It's not like you have anything I don't have. And besides," Johanna said, brushing passed her, "you're pretty hot."

Katniss was momentarily stunned but then she growled in frustration and stormed out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her. Quickly Johanna changed into pajamas and sat on her bed, folding her arms under her head. So far, pretending to be the Mockingjay had been pretty easy. She didn't know what Katniss was always complaining about.

* * *

><p>Author's note: I hope this isn't too confusing. If Johanna is speaking, it's Johanna inside Katniss. If Katniss is speaking, it's Katniss inside Johanna. Clear? This is gonna be a fun one! Let me know what you think!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss awoke with a hard jolt, grasping her bed sheet in tight fists and feeling her body shudder in the darkness. The small green clock next to her bed blinked 4:54AM. She raised a hand to wipe her eye and froze in her movement. Everything felt off. Her skin felt tight and cold and her hair...

_Right_. She was inside Johanna's body so the little curls she had were matted to the top of her head. That's why her dreams, usually of Rue in the field or the one with her father in the mines, were different. A fire crackled ominously in the distance and a wall of flames similar to the one she had been victim to in her first Games began tumbling toward her. She could hear screams, voices she didn't recognize but felt were familiar to Johanna, before everything turned to ash and she awoke with the smell of sulfur still burning in her nostrils.

Reasoning she'd have to be awake in an hour anyway Katniss threw her standard issue itchy cotton blanket off of her and stretched her limbs. She had never noticed how tiny Johanna was. Her presence was so imposing it belied her stature. The uniform hung off her shoulders even though they were supposed to be fit to size. Even considering she had lost weight since her time in the Capitol, she still seemed unbelievably small. Katniss ventured into the bathroom, deciding she'd take a shower before Johanna woke up.

She stripped out of her uniform, tossing her undergarments on the floor with everything else. The water would run cold this early in the morning, but Katniss hadn't had time to get spoiled by the warm water in the Victor's Village anyway. She turned on the faucet and felt her chest constrict painfully. _What_? The water poured into the drain, wastefully, but Katniss felt herself pressed back on the tile wall. She felt like she was back in the woods with Gale, jostled after shooting down the prey, seeing Marvel fall to his death at her arrow.

Quickly she shut off the tap, feeling Johanna's body tremble. Cautiously she ran a small towel underneath the water and rubbed her skin with the abrasive material. It still made her shudder but it was manageable. Surely this was something wired in Johanna. These physical reactions seemed so disconnected from her thoughts: it's just water. But her body was reacting as if it was pure acid. But Johanna had swam in the Quell, hadn't she? Finnick had dunked her in the water just after Johanna had slapped her across the face. Back when she was one move away from sinking an arrow into Johanna but she had saved Beetee and Wiress. Katniss smiled a little because deep inside she heard herself wanting to call them Nuts and Volts. As much as Johanna had tried to disguise it, even Katniss could see her anger at the loss of Wiress. It was brief, but it was there. She remembered seeing Johanna's face, slightly forlorn, as Finnick apologized for the loss of Blight. Johanna had brushed it off, as she did with all emotions, with a mumbled "he wasn't much, but he was from home." She recalled touching Johanna's wrist gently, urging her not to go into the jabberjays section. That memory caused a flood of warmth spreading through her veins, which made Katniss smile again. Johanna remembered.

Once she deemed herself clean enough, and had successfully dodged a mirror to not ogle Johanna naked (she had embarrassedly done enough of that during the Quell and in the Training Center), she returned to her room to find Johanna, or rather herself, still in a fitful sleep. You never get to see yourself in real life; you see photos of yourself or your reflection or your image up on a screen. But to see yourself in person... Katniss found herself staring at her own sleeping form. She sat down on the edge of her own bed and stared across the room. She barely recognized herself.

Katniss watched her stir until she awoke, blinking a few times into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she narrowed them, somehow looking impossibly like Johanna despite being in Katniss's body. "Were you watching me sleep?" A sly grin came on her face. "Were you watching yourself sleep? God, Everdeen, all this catering to your every whim has gone to your head, hasn't it?" Johanna got up and stretched her limbs, running her fingers through her hair. Her fingers lingered in her locks a few more moments longer than necessary. "I guess it would've gone to mine too. Had anybody ever given a fuck."

Katniss frowned sourly. "You know, that's not really fair. A lot of people care about you, Johanna." Katniss watched her own eyes flick up at her incredulously. "Finnick?" Johanna rolled her eyes. "Haymitch. Beetee, in spite of everything you've said about him, he cares. Even Peeta has asked about you."

Johanna scoffed. "All of us on the island of misfit toys, right? All of the broken people, we care about each other. That's why you're not one of us, Twelve. You're not broken."

"I have lost, too, Johanna! You think that just because I'm the 'Mockingjay' that I don't feel loss?"

Johanna stepped forward, using her height (for the first time) to tower over Katniss. It was strange to look into her own face and see Katniss in her eyes. "What have you lost? Really? What, because your district is in ruins? Big deal. Let me lay some fucking truth on you, kid. Snow would have destroyed it anyway. Twelve was in no fucking shape to withstand a war. Less casualties? Sure. But this is a fucking war. Atrocities happen."

"Don't you dare. You don't understand for a moment what I -"

Johanna lifted her hand and slapped Katniss on the cheek. "You have your mother, your sister. You have your mentor, your escort, your prep team. You have your body." Johanna's voice broke on the last sentence but her stare was unwavering. "You have both your boyfriends, although Peeta's a little worse for the wear, admittedly. You have a legion of people waiting to lay down their lives for you. And you want to cry because what? Because of Rue? Because you couldn't save a little girl in a situation she would have died in anyway? Get off your fucking white horse, Katniss. You're no goddamn hero." Her voice softened. "You're just a girl."

Katniss went from enraged to perplexed as Johanna continued her spiel. "Why are you like this?" Katniss asked, taking a step away from Johanna. Being so close to her had sent a nauseating wave of emotions through her that she had yet to really identify. She didn't know if she wanted to identify them. "Why do you hate me so much?"

Johanna grunted in frustration and tossed her hands in the air. "You really are fucking brainless, aren't you?" A small flash of confusion went through Johanna's eyes but she shook it off and stared back at Katniss. "Just forget it." Johanna stalked over to the wall and got her arm stamped. Meeting with Plutarch, training with Soldier York. Lunch. With a grumble Johanna disappeared into the bathroom.

Katniss placed her own arm in the wall and received her duties for the day: session with Dr. Aurelius, meeting with Beetee, Lunch. Katniss immediately felt her stomach fill with dread. It felt unethical to go to Johanna's doctor appointment. However it was just as unethical for Johanna to continue to strip down naked and stare Katniss's body.

They didn't exchange any words as Johanna dressed. She combed Katniss's hair out, tossing the brush on to the bed and walked out the door without even looking at Katniss. Katniss stood in the room, alone. There would be no expectations when she walked out that door. Nobody would look to her for support or for answers. Maybe they'd look at her with a little bit of fear. She grinned at that thought. It felt almost like a relief.

* * *

><p>Her grin turned into a frown as she went to breakfast. Johanna was already there ...well, <em>she <em>was already there, sitting between her mother and her sister. Her mother was braiding her hair, and she was playing some sort of sing-songy hand-slapping game with Prim. Gale took in bites of his oatmeal as he watched on amusedly. An overwhelming jealous chord struck deep within her chest. It was near impossible to separate her feelings and the ones leftover inside Johanna so she elected to ignore it.

_All of the broken people, we care about each other_.

After the oatmeal was placed in her bowl she turned around to see Finnick waving her over to his table. Beetee had rolled over to the end and Annie, as usual, was attached to Finnick's side. Katniss and Finnick had gotten close while the others were in the Capitol, but nowhere near the closeness she imagined he and Johanna shared. The nature of their relationship was a mystery to her. She hadn't given it much thought except during the Quell but there has been more pressing issues then. And she wasn't comfortable with either if them knowing she had been curious. Narrowing her eyes she walked over to their table, trying to scrutinize her feelings as she sat down. The only thing she felt as she looked into Finnick's seafoam eyes was a small amount of comfort. Something like what she felt with Gale. Maybe they were just friends. Finnick's eyes then mirrored her own. "Is everything okay Jo?"

_Jo_. Katniss wondered what would happen if she started calling Johanna that. It seemed cute. "Peachy." That sounded like a Johanna answer. Sarcastic but truthful. Finnick seemed satisfied and nodded his head, returning to his meal. Beetee looked over with raised eyebrows and Katniss gave him a small nod. "Lucky Volts gets to hang out with me later. Any idea what we're doing?"

Beetee hid a smile as he cleared his throat. "I believe we're going to be working on your axe-throwing skills. I've got my hands on some technology for these aerodynamic axes that fly through the air with less friction. Quicker deaths. I figured you'd be the best person to test them."

"Damn right." Beetee couldn't help but laugh as Katniss dug into her oatmeal with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She figured if she didn't raise any alarms around Finnick, she was doing a good job of being Johanna. Nobody here knew Johanna better than he did. They ate their meal in a comfortable silence, save for the whispering between Annie and Finnick. The sandy-haired boy looked up at her and smiled.

"How's it going with Katniss?" Katniss nearly choked on her rations as she looked up at Finnick, who was staring back at her in earnest. She had no idea to what lengths Johanna had discussed their dynamic. There was a long beat after he asked before he slowly raised his eyebrow. "I mean, at least now you know she doesn't hate you." His smile, so genuine, made Katniss smile back. _Ha! _Johanna had been worried that she hated her?

"Well why should she hate me? I did save her life. More than once. She can't be that brainless." She had no other answer. She really didn't ever hate Johanna, she only hated the way Johanna pushed her buttons. When Johanna purposefully prodded her and tried to make her feel guilty about Peeta or the rebellion, even then she didn't hate her.

Finnick chuckled. "True, but you better be on your best behavior. She went out on a limb for you to get you into that compartment. And you know how you get." Katniss raised her eyebrows in agreement but said nothing in response. She did know how Johanna got. They had done nothing but argue themselves into exhaustion since the moment Johanna had gotten into the compartment. Save for the few moments between them where they spoke about training, they were constantly on edge. She tried to turn her face into displeasure and Finnick merely smiled back. "Don't make this harder on her, okay? She's had it pretty rough."

Katniss wanted to smile to appreciate Finnick defending her, especially to Johanna, but she couldn't. Johanna certainly wouldn't take to being chastised about her behavior. She shot a look back at Johanna who was busy bonding with _her _little sister. "Yeah, must be tough to be the center of attention 24/7 and have your every whim catered to. All your family still in tact."

Finnick glowered at her. "Jo, please. She's suffered. We all have. Comparing pain does nothing to lessen your own."

She whipped her head back toward him. "What are you, my head doctor now?" Beetee looked surprised over the rim of his glasses. She saw Annie's eyes begin to widen and she knew the poor girl was about to teeter over into a void that only Finnick could retrieve her from. Katniss didn't know what it said about her that she was almost glad she didn't have to care about Annie and her mental fragility. Instead she rolled her eyes as Finnick murmured into the redhead's ear.

"Don't be like that," Finnick chastised as Annie removed her hands from her ears.

Katniss shrugged her shoulders as she scooped another helping of the oatmeal into her mouth. "So you're on her side now?"

Finnick sighed. "I'm on nobody's side. We're all on the same team."

Katniss puffed out a long stream of air in an exaggeratedly exasperated movement. She was totally nailing being Johanna, at least in her own estimation. Combative, mean, sarcastic. "Some of us just have more cheerleaders than others." With that she lifted her tray and left the other victors there in her wake.

So far, being Johanna was pretty liberating. As she cast a glance toward her family, happily embroiled in conversation, her smile dropped again. Liberating, but lonely.

* * *

><p>Dr. Aurelius was Katniss's head doctor as well but he pretty much napped during their sessions. Which wasn't a problem for Katniss, she didn't enjoy to share anyway. She didn't know how Johanna behaved so she went into the room expecting much of the same. It wasn't.<p>

"Miss Mason I'm glad to see you." He was not only awake but particularly chipper. She lifted a surprised eyebrow and sat down in the long chaise, propping her boots up and clasping her hands over her stomach. "How are your new living arrangements working out?"

Well apparently that was the talk of the town. "Fine." Katniss rapidly grew uncomfortable under his gaze. He was staring at her so intensely with his gray eyes that she was certain he expected more information.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know your feelings for Katniss have been a bit complex at times." Katniss snorted. He smiled kindly at her. "As we've discussed, I sincerely hope you've begun to let go of your anger and jealousy. She is not the target of your rage."

"That doesn't stop her from being irritating." It was bizarre to feel how easy it was to "become" Johanna. She hadn't any clue about the concept of the soul other than the spirit comment Cinna had made before her interview. But from what she had felt inside Johanna's skin, it must be pervasive in your body. It was almost _too_ natural.

He chuckled good-naturedly and leaned against the edge of his desk. He got the look on his face that Katniss had seen on Finnick's just before he tried to reason with Johanna. Johanna was hard to peg in terms of reaction so Katniss was positive he was attempting to tread lightly. "Have you tried telling Katniss how you feel?"

How she feels? Oh sure, she's said plenty of times how useless Katniss is. How privileged and childish she is. Johanna is many things but dishonest or quiet are not among them. But she wasn't sure of exactly what he was talking about. Which feelings? The jealousy? The hate? The indifference? "And what would I tell her?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Miss Everdeen is very practical. I'm sure if you approached her without your usual caustic tactics, she may respond positively to you."

_What_? Katniss blinked a few times in massive confusion. "I wouldn't know what to say."

"That you want to be friends," he explained calmly. Oh. The constriction in her chest loosened. Also a strange pang of disappointment. She must've said "oh" aloud because he stepped closer to her, a look of care in his eyes. Katniss didn't know what Johanna was griping about, Dr. Aurelius was much better with her. "Perhaps if she accepts this friendship, it will help in your recovery. I do think you need to come outside of yourself. Learn to rely on others."

Well that was stupid. Any victor would be able to tell him how impossible it was to trust anyone. When you're left to fend for yourself for your life? Trust is as rare as diamonds in 12, never mind among the broken trail of victors. "People have a habit of disappearing on me."

He nodded, rubbing his soft hands together. Of course he had no experience dealing with victors in this rabbit warren. She smiled at the term Johanna used for 13. But she couldn't really blame him for trying to go with some steady mental health advice. Johanna, like Katniss herself, did need to learn to open up to others. "That is in the past, Johanna. You can't change that so you might as well get on with things. Your best weapon against the Capitol is your ability to have a bright future."

"Or an axe and a rifle to Snow's head." Katniss smirked at the doctor who chuckled at her response.

"Perhaps. But more important than petty revenge is you getting better because eventually President Snow will be disposed of and Panem will move on. You will still be alive and dealing with the same trauma as before. I think Katniss can help you. I think she would want to help you."

"She doesn't owe me anything," Katniss mumbled. "I made my choices to protect her and join the rebellion." That was something Johanna had explained several times to her, after every outreach attempt she had made. Nothing personal, nothing to get all sensitive about. We all make our choices.

"That may be true, but you shouldn't shirk any potential happiness." Happiness? Being her friend would make Johanna happy? She could just _ask_ like a normal person. But no, she had to be difficult. Katniss had a hard time believing all Johanna needed to be happy was for them to be buddies. It seemed to make her happier to prod her verbally. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just try it."

She exhaled an exaggerated sigh and nodded her head. "I will _try_. No promises, doc."

* * *

><p>Katniss was thankful that a phone call from Coin had cut short the session. In the few times Dr. Aurelius had been conscious during their sessions, he enjoyed digging into her past and dredging up memories she'd rather forget. She didn't want to touch Johanna's memories if she didn't have to.<p>

Typically when she walked through the hallways of 13 someone acknowledged her. Ever since the successful return of the victors and her agreement to be the Mockingjay, people were more open with hellos or nods. But not toward Johanna. The residents gave her distrustful stares, people even seemed to be actively avoiding her. It was ...incredibly lonely.

She made her way down to the dungeon to find Beetee. She found him wheeling through a simulation meadow, nodding as targets dressed as peacekeepers appeared digitally and disappeared into the air. "Johanna," he greeted, giving a sidelong look toward a 13 resident operating the simulation. "Your axes are on the table."

Katniss retrieved the axes, delighted to feel like she normally did with her bow. The axe felt like a natural extension of her arm. She twirled it around as she had seen Johanna do in the arena. "These are incredible."

Beetee smiled proudly. "I've been watching videos of ..._your_ Games. I thought I could make the axes a bit more practical for street combat. Try it." Katniss hurled the axe at the digital Peacekeeper, burying the blade into his chest. "Retrieve it." Katniss went to the body and pulled out the axe. "Tell it to switch."

Katniss stared down at the axe and confusedly said, "Switch?" In her hands the axe transformed into a small rifle. Her eyes widened as another digital enemy approached and she quickly took him down with a few scattered rounds to the chest. Johanna wasn't a very good shot. "Wow."

"I haven't been able to make them retrievable like Finnick's trident yet. Not without potentially slicing your hand off." Beetle rolled over to a command counter and pressed a button. "That will be all, thank you." The 13 guard nodded and took her leave. Beetle rolled back to Katniss. "How are you?"

Katniss sighed. "Uncomfortable. I can't take a bath." Beetee winced and his face became more reserved as something Katniss was not privy to registered in him. "I have memories I can't make sense of. Dreams of voices screaming. A lot of fire." He frowned sympathetically. "Other than that, being Johanna has been pretty easy. Nobody's asked me to do anything."

Beered tipped his glasses down the bridge of his nose. "You know, maybe this will be cathartic for Johanna. She's so guarded, always has been. Perhaps now, armed with some knowledge of her, you could coax her back out. Once you're back in your own skin."

"I guess."

"I mean, she's certainly helped your reputation with Coin and Plutarch." Katniss's very surprised expression made Beetee smile. "Follow me." He wheeled over and out of the meadow simulation. Katniss followed with the axe in hand until they came to a small screen. With a few taps and swipes an image of Katniss was on the screen, surrounded by flame. "She did a propo with Cressida."

Katniss watched as she, or Johanna, rose from the flames. She gave an impassioned speech with such conviction Katniss almost believed she was really in the virtual flames and destruction they had built around her. Johanna was a natural. She had seen a glimpse of that during the Quell interviews. After easing Caesar in with the conversation about the "bond between the Districts and the Capitol" she had torn him down with her cussing out the entire system. Johanna was a manipulator, for better or for worse.

"I told her she could be the Mockingjay," Katniss said with a small frown as the screen went blank. Johanna was doing a better job of being Katniss than Katniss had done. Here she was telling off Finnick and upsetting Annie and Johanna was doing successful propos with Cressida. Maybe she should just stay as the Mockingjay until the rebellion was over. Katniss was better at loneliness than leadership.

Beetee must've sensed her thoughts as he placed his hand on her wrist. "I am working toward a cure. Trust me, as fascinating as this switch has been for me scientifically, I can't imagine what it's been like psychologically. They don't give me a lot of downtime here but I'm devoting every second to figuring this out."

Katniss nodded her head in understanding. "I know you are. Thank you."

* * *

><p>The rest of Katniss's day went by slowly. She was alone at lunch; Finnick and Annie had gone to do some wedding preparation with Plutarch, and Beetee was probably working on the cure as he had promised. Johanna was laughing it up inside Katniss's body with Cressida and her camera team, looking happier than Katniss had ever felt in the district.<p>

Katniss elected to ignore the rest of her day's activities in favor of retiring to their room; Johanna never adhered to the schedule anyway. As the Mockingjay she had felt so unbearably lonely, even with her family there. Before they had rescued Peeta, though Gale was a supporting presence and Finnick did his best, it was so thoroughly lonely. No one understood what it meant to be a victor, to be a failure in protecting the one person she had sworn to do so. The desolation and the guilt were debilitating. With time, with his return - though he was not himself - and the help of Cressida and Haymitch, it had started to feel less like a pressure. There was a new goal in sight: killing Snow. Eventually they'd lead an assault on the Capitol, she'd break from the team, and she'd kill Snow.

Johanna didn't have those goals. She had nothing. There was no light at the end of her tunnel to work toward. There was just this rage and indignity that filled her stomach like a heavy stew. And the crippling loneliness. There was nothing in her compartment to call her own, no real friends. Who knows what she had waiting for her in 7? No wonder she was so keen on stealing morphling; it dulled the emotions that stuck to her like sharp-edged thorn bushes.

Some time after dinner Johanna returned to the compartment, ignoring Katniss's presence until she had washed her face in the bathroom, rubbing off the make-up she had been wearing since the morning. She yawned, stretching her limbs as Katniss watched from her bed, her eyes narrowed and inquisitive.

"What, Everdeen?" Johanna asked tiredly, hoisting herself up on the edge of the bed.

Katniss blinked a few times before hardening her stare. "Seems like you had a nice day."

Johanna raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Did it? I did get to be the Mockingjay. And again, I don't know why you complain all the time. Seemed pretty easy to me."

"Maybe you're just used to being a liar." Katniss watched as Johanna contorted her features into shock, then annoyance.

"Maybe you're too tied up in your head game to realize this is a sweet gig." Johanna swung her feet up and laid down on the bed, sliding her hands under her head. "You think too much. I can feel it. Every time I have a conversation I can feel your brain working overtime. You analyze everything, everyone."

Katniss scoffed. "So I should just whip off my clothes in front of everyone? Hm? Live without a thought to how my actions affect others?"

Johanna rolled on to her side, propping her head up on her palm, bent at the elbow. "No, brainless. You think I just do whatever I want? Is that what you did today?" Katniss's eyes dropped to the floor. "I just don't turn everything into a guilt game. Even your sister, you -"

"Don't you try and lecture me on Prim. You have spent one day with her, you barely know her."

"_You _barely know her. You know nothing about anybody here. You're so wrapped up in yourself." Katniss was going to protest but her words died in her throat. Johanna had delivered the statement without any malice, which normally something like that would've been rife with. "They promoted your sister. They're training her to be a doctor."

"I know that," Katniss replied smugly.

"But do you know why?" Johanna raised her eyebrow. "Because she saved a man's life. Single-handedly. All the doctors were busy - some mental case had gone off the walls - and one of the older men here was having a heart attack. Your sister was able to keep him alive long enough to get another doctor. It was brilliant."

Katniss deflated into her mattress. She had no idea what Prim was doing; she never remembered to ask her about the hospital. She had been so focused on the rebellion, on Peeta, and then on Johanna, to remember her family. Her mother had been in better spirits but Katniss hadn't had one conversation with her longer than the small one explaining that Johanna would be her roommate. "She's really great."

"Never mind about Messalla, Castor, Pollux." Johanna narrowed her eyes. "Do you know how Cressida got here? She and the rest of them had to hitch rides, hide in districts until they were able to catch a hovercraft that wasn't the Capitol's here. It took them months." Katniss remained silent and she heard Johanna scoff. "No wonder they looked at me like I had three heads when I asked them about themselves. You really don't talk to anyone, do you?"

The lights above them cut off and Katniss heard Johanna rustle in her sheets, the mattress squeaking beneath her. "Maybe you should just stay as the Mockingjay. Since you're doing such a better job of it."

"Please," Johanna replied into the darkness. "Don't give me that pity party. Besides I am not convinced you want to be me. I know what it's like to live in my skin. I'll give you your pretty little body back as soon as Volts figures this out." There was a long beat of silence. "Then me and Cressida are gonna have a talk."

"You and Cressida? Why?"

Katniss heard Johanna turn over and face away from her. "'Cos she's the second-best looking person in this hell hole and I definitely want to get to know her better. Maybe I'll see if she'll dance with me at the wedding." Johanna waited before rolling onto her back and anticipating a response. Finally she heard chuckling, then outright giggling coming from the other side of the room.

"God you are such a pain in the butt, Johanna. A perverse pain in the butt."

"I'm a 'pain in the butt?' That's the best you've got, Mockingjay?"

Katniss rolled over to look toward Johanna's bunk in the darkness. She caught the whites of her own eyes staring back at her amusedly. "I'm not the Mockingjay anymore, remember? I'm just Johanna Mason, District Seven. I like to strip down in elevators and slap people."

"Not people," Johanna clarified with a grin. "Just you."

They fell into a less tense silence and Katniss stared up at the ceiling. "Hey Jo?" She tentatively tried out the new nickname. When she didn't get something hurled at her she smiled and waited.

"Yeah?"

"If Cressida is the second best looking person in here, who's the first?"

Katniss heard her own low laugh and then the squeaking of the mattress as Johanna turned over again. "You're the one inside my head, brainless. Figure it out."

Katniss knew she could live inside Johanna's brain for a hundred years and still never understand the snarky victor.


	3. Chapter 3

The preparations for the wedding were more fraught with tension that Johanna thought they'd be. As she sat in the meeting next to Haymitch, she watched amusedly as Coin and Plutarch argued over every detail. Every crumb, every decoration, every single second was bargained for and argued over. Plutarch got steaming mad, his puffy white face getting red with anger. "What's the point of doing a propo of no one is having any fun?"

"Who said weddings are fun?" Coin retorted, placing her hands on her hips. "It's a wedding. Say a few words, clink a glass or two, go back to bed."

Johanna laughed at Coin's estimation of a wedding and all the eyes turned to her. "Sorry, it's just, come on. Finnick and Annie have been through the ringer." Coin opened her mouth but Johanna kept going. "No. You don't understand. When you enter that arena, you never leave. Finnick will always be the young boy with the trident, standing alone in an arena. And he found the one thing - the one fucking thing - that makes living after your Games worthwhile." Everyone stared at her expectantly and she rolled her eyes. "Love. Snow stripped him of everything else he had to live for. Everything except her. And let's face it, she's not exactly in top shape." Johanna ignored the side eye from Haymitch. "Let him have this one night. This one thing. Get them some music, get them some streamers or whatever. Have a few pints of cider out for the adults. Give him this one night, because the Capitol has taken a lot of nights from him."

Coin watched Johanna with narrowed eyes for a few moments, and Johanna began to smile as she saw Coin's face relax. "Fine. One musician but he should have his own instrument or be able to make one. Decorations but the citizens will have to make them from whatever we have lying around. No cider. And I don't know how we'll get her a dress."

"Oh is she allowed to wear a dress now?" Plutarch questioned sarcastically, drawing a look of pure ire from Coin.

"I will," Johanna supplied. "From my clothes at home. Let me go back to Se-" Johanna coughed. "Let me go back to Twelve with Annie and we'll look at the dresses. Everyone knows this place could use some color since you didn't spare any expense on painting the walls." Johanna eyed the bare gray cement. "Finnick can wear one of Peeta's suits. Make that a propo too. Let the Capitol see Cinna's designs."

Effie smiled at Johanna from across the room. "It would be lovely to see something pretty."

Plutarch grinned happily from the corner of the room. In fact everyone seemed to be wearing a smile except Haymitch and Coin. But Johanna could see Coin start to crack a little. "So we'll send Cressida, Poll, Cas, Johanna, Annie, Effie, Boggs, just in case. Perhaps the prep team?" Plutarch counted on his fingers. "There may not be enough seats."

Johanna smirked and rose from her chair, sauntering toward the door. "It's cool, we'll sit on each other's laps like in grade school. You don't mind sitting on my lap, right Cress?" Cressida's eyes widened to comical levels as Johanna left the room, giving a nod to the guard at the door. Being Katniss was such a breeze. Though truthfully, she hadn't even been trying to be her anymore. People seemed to enjoy Katniss being more "out of her shell" so she had gone with it. Nobody was any wiser so really, no harm done.

It was only a few hours later when the hovercraft was ready to go, and Katniss ran down the corridor behind the group. "Hey wait!" Johanna turned around to see herself in her training gear running after them. "Where are you going?"

Johanna stepped forward. "To Twelve to let Annie pick out a dress. And pick up one of Peeta's old suits for Finnick."

Katniss furrowed her brows. "What? Why am I not going?"

Cressida tilted her head to the side. "Why would you come?"

"Soldier Mason, you're supposed to be out on the rifle range," Boggs added, crossing his arms over his chest.

Katniss looked between them all and then helplessly to Johanna. How could she? How could she take from her an opportunity to go back home? Even if it was just for a minute. "Right," she said dejectedly. "Mockingjay gets to see home and the rest of us will have to be content with seeing it in our dreams. Great. Well, godspeed." Katniss mockingly saluted them and turned around to walk back into Thirteen. How thoroughly selfish of Johanna to not even suggest she come! She could've done it. Katniss had gotten her the special privilege of the compartment and was able to get her into training.

Johanna couldn't even be bothered to let her see her own home.

* * *

><p>The familiar walk down the corridor to the one way mirror felt strange inside Johanna's skin. Katniss didn't feel the anxious clenching of her heart. The doctors didn't seem to be surprised to see Johanna there, much to Katniss's surprise. A few of them even greeted her by name. The whole process was much less draining than it normally was when she snuck off to watch the boy with the bread.<p>

Peeta was sitting in a white chair, pastry bag in hand, in front of a cart with an unfrosted white cake. Hers and Johanna's memories were tied together, muddled in the back of her head like sludge at the lake bottom. But somewhere in there she could see Peeta in the bakery window, the same intense concentration on his face. She remembered days of watching him paint in her family book, in some of the few normal moments they had ever had. That boy was forever lost to her.

But where she usually felt guilt and a nostalgic longing, there was a sadness and something sharp inside her stomach. Something with a crisp edge to it. Katniss held on to the sill of the window as a montage of moments flooded her brain. Her first carriage ride in the Games, kissing Peeta in the cave, his proposal on stage, the Tour speech in 2, the beach in the arena. All of it, but through another eye. Fuzzy, like an out of reception Captiol broadcast. All of those memories with the touch of sharpness that Katniss vaguely remembered from when Gale was whipped. Imagining him with another girl, forced to marry her. The immediate jealousy that rose inside her and choked her throat. It's almost laughable to think of how much simpler things seemed when it was Gale and Peeta fighting for her affection.

It didn't take a head doctor to know those were Johanna's memories of her and Peeta. But the jealous undercurrent that sucked at every one of those memories was what made her stop in her tracks. Johanna was jealous? Jealous of what? Of her Games? That she had Peeta? That seemed reasonable enough; it had been much easier to go through with someone else. Johanna had even said it herself. _Jealousy is certainly involved_. Imagining the small, miserable girl she had seen during the 71st Hunger Games on her Victory Tour train alone made Katniss even more depressed than she was. She walked around to his door and the guard on duty nodded. "Solider Mason."

"Hi," Katniss replied softly. "Is it okay if I go in there?"

The guard smirked. "Hasn't stopped you before. Go ahead." He opened the door and walked in behind her. The click of their military boots snapped Peeta's attention up from the cake. Katniss was immediately struck by how clear and focused his gaze was. A long distance from the seething, maddened, wild boy who had clutched her throat, desperate to squeeze the life from her. "Mr. Mellark you have a visitor."

"Johanna." Katniss nearly cried at the sound of his clear, steady voice. It was especially heartbreaking to know it wasn't for her. "Good to see you."

She shot a look back at the guard. She wanted to be alone with him. Say something Johanna. Something sassy. "You can step out. Bread Boy and I are good friends."

Peeta scoffed but he had on a small smile. "I wouldn't call us friends exactly," he explained, almost to the guard.

"Allies?" Katniss supplied.

"Better." The guard left the room and Katniss pulled over a chair near Peeta, but just out of arm's reach. He took a note of their distance with a drop of his eyes and shrugged. "Is Finnick looking forward to the wedding?" He turned his attention back to the cake, drawing even, beautiful lines with the frosting.

Katniss nodded. "Very much. They went to Twelve today to get a dress for Annie and one of your suits for Finnick." This caused him to pause so sharply Katniss held her breath, but she relaxed when he shook it off and kept frosting the cake.

Peeta looked more pensive than usual, and his hand stilled on the cake. "Johanna may I ask you something?" She made a motion for him to continue. "My memories of the arena, the last one, aren't as messed up as the ones from my first. But you were..." His face scrunched in thought. Katniss felt the anxiety panging in her chest. She didn't know anything about what they went through when they were captured. Selfishly she had never asked. "What happened with Katniss? In the arena? I'm trying to make my memories fit and I can't be sure what they showed me was the truth."

_That_ she remembered. Though her head injury had made the memories short circuit sometimes, that she could recall. But now that the memory belonged to them both, it made a small headache form in her brain to see it. Two very distinct memories, boh colored in different emotions. She tried to zero in on the memory of her own face staring up at her. To see that event through Johanna's eyes, because even at the current level of their "friendship," that moment still made her fearful of the District 7 victor.

She remembered the heat of her body beneath Johanna's own, the smell of blood, the overwhelming feeling of concern and ache. The pounding fear as she looked up and saw two figures galloping toward them. "I carried the coil for a while so she could watch my back. The coil got taut and snapped and I knew they were coming. I had to get the tracker out of her, that was my objective, so I knocked her out."

He nodded solemnly. "That's what I figured."

"Seems strange," Katniss heard herself saying. "You in here and me out there."

Peeta chuckled. "On the surface, I suppose. But you were tying to protect her. You're still trying, being her roommate now and all. I used to try to do that too."

Katniss moved her gaze to the ground in both shame and sadness. Peeta and Johanna made an unlikely pair of allies. Peeta brought a steady calm to everything, like a slowly lapping sea. Johanna was a maelstrom who deliberately brought you down just so she could bring you back up. "What happened to you isn't your fault. You did protect her. They fucked you up, kid. It was only a matter of time before they got to you too."

The blond boy shook his head and Katniss watched his shoulders move a little with a slight laugh. How nice it was to see him so unguarded, like the boy she had in the arena. "I like when you visit. You don't mince words." Katniss suddenly had a throbbing headache as she remembered something she never saw: Peeta and Johanna interacting at the training center. They were the hammock station where Katniss met with Cashmere and Gloss, chatting amicably. Peeta laughs his light laugh and Johanna a low, genuine one. It smashes with her own memory of Johanna from that time that she barely remembered on a good day: them at lunch before the evaluation. They - all the victors - were joking about what to do. Cashmere suggested she would sing, Gloss shot her down. Peeta suggests Chaff tell some dirty jokes. And then:

_"What about you, Johanna?" Cashmere asks, pointing her fork in the other girl's direction. _

_"Oh Johanna can strip," Katniss supplies in a deadpan. Johanna's face is alight with surprise but that deep twinkle is in her eyes. "Don't you remember? Why am I the only one that gets the free show?"_

_Everyone at the table laughs - Chaff nearly spits out his drink - and Johanna doesn't back down. "I could do that, but I don't think they earned that show."_

_The table resumes taking, but Katniss keeps her eyes on Johanna. "And what did I do to earn that show?" It's supposed to sound like a whine but it comes out far too genuine._

_Johanna smirks and leans in conspiratorially. "You intrigue me, girl on fire." With that she stabs someone else's plate - Finnick's - and eats some of his pasta, chewing slowly and never breaking eye contact until Katniss diverts her attention._

Katniss shook her head and leveled her gaze back on Peeta. He looked a touched concerned. "Just a small flashback to our training center days," Katniss explained with a small rueful smile. Peeta mirrored her smile and returned his attention to the cake.

"I tried to get Katniss to ally with you, you know," he said slowly. His eyes never left the cake but he continued to speak. It almost looked cathartic for him to recall something that didn't immediate make him hate her. Either that, or he was getting marginally better. "She _immediately_ didn't like you."

Katniss snorted. "I have that effect on people." It was hard to remember, but she didn't immediately dislike Johanna. She disliked the strange churning in her gut she got when she saw her nude. She disliked the lightning bolts that shot to her fingertips when Johanna's brown eyes stared into hers. She disliked how aggressive she was because it brought out an aggressive side of Katniss that reminded her of her father.

Peeta shook his head. "Not me. I could see it. You're a good person. You didn't deserve what happened to you."

Katniss was unsure if he meant after her Games - the implied prostitution and subsequent death of all her loved ones - or the torture. In either estimation he wasn't wrong. "Neither did you," she replied genuinely. She remembered something Johanna had said to her. "The arena fucked us all up pretty good, don't you think?"

"Not just the arena. Katniss." Katniss looked warily toward Peeta, who finally looked up from his cake. He noticed the expression on her face. "No, not like that. It's easier now... to separate what they put in there and what's real. Sometimes. Sometimes I get flashes but, I'm getting better." Katniss nodded, hoping that her eyes weren't wet with tears. "The effect she can have. She has no idea. Even without the arena, my life was never the same after I saw her. For better or for worse," he said detachedly. "You've been rooming with her a bit now, right? Don't you think so?"

Katniss was too startled by this coherent, calm Peeta that she almost didn't answer him. She also didn't think she had an effect on Johanna other than being annoying and generally unpleasant. "Mostly I just find her annoying."

Peeta laughed and returned his attention to the frosting. He switched to green and Katniss widened her eyes at the unfrosted cake began taking the form of an ocean. "Yeah, she's that too. Stubborn."

"Super stubborn," Katniss agreed, keeping her eyes on the cake. She eyed the wall to find a clock but there was none in sight. Probably to help Peeta keep a clear mind and not worry about how long he'd been in complete isolation. "I should probably get going. They'll be back from Twelve soon."

Peeta nodded his head. "Hey Johanna?" She looked over at him. "Thank Katniss for me for suggesting I do the cake. It's been nice to do something normal with my hands for once." He stared down with his pale blue eyes on his hands, which were red in the palms, probably from him gripping his fists so hard. "And don't give her such a hard time, okay? She could use a friend." The last part was said with a bit of humor and Katniss smirked.

"I don't know about friends. Maybe allies." Peeta smiled at her. "Fine, Bread Boy. You just get back to that cake." She smiled at Peeta and left the room as unobtrusively but quickly as she could. Once she was out of the sight line of the guards she backed against the wall and shuddered, letting the tears fall. The boy with the bread that loved her was in there somewhere, but a large part of her - a part of her that she hated - didn't want him back. She wanted him healthy, yes. But she didn't want to get back on the train around Panem anymore. She wanted to make her own path. She wanted to feel that excited churning in her stomach. Something, she realized uneasily, didn't come from Peeta. Or Gale.

This was not good.

* * *

><p>They returned a few hours later under nightfall, with Annie happily cradling a new dress and the prep team excited to make alterations on Peeta's suit for Finnick. Johanna watched Cressida's footage as they walked back in through the hangar and into the elevator. It was simple stuff; just some of Annie's excited face, of the plethora of evening gowns Cinna had made for her, of the only half-destroyed Victor's Village. It was easy to Johanna to look unaffected by the damage because she was. This was not her home. It didn't stop her from snooping around, but it did stop her from looking overly emotional.<p>

When she arrived back in the compartment, she found Prim and Katniss sitting on her bed, chatting in low tones. There was something rather intimate about the way they were sitting that made Johanna narrow her eyes. The look on Katniss's face - on _her _face - made it apparent. She closed the door behind her and strode over to them. "You told the kid?"

Katniss shrugged. "I had to tell someone. And Prim can be trusted."

Prim nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to tell anyone. Besides, who's going to believe me?" She raised a pale eyebrow and Johanna pursed her lips. She wasn't wrong but it still made her uneasy. The last thing she wanted was for her right to go to the Capitol revoked because of this body-swapping nonsense. "I really believed you were Katniss."

Johanna grinned. "Thanks. I think I do a good impression of our dear Mockingjay." Katniss glared at her as Johanna rummaged in the ruck sack over her shoulder. "By the way I found something for you, kid." Johanna pulled out a small doll and a picture of Prim atop her father's shoulders. Prim's wide blue eyes welled with tears and she hugged Johanna around her stomach. "Easy, you know Delicate Daisy over here has sore ribs."

Prim bounced on her heels in excitement. "I'm gonna go show Mom. Bye Katniss! Bye Jo!" She skittered out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving them alone once more.

Johanna moved the bag over her head and got up on the bed next to Katniss, shifting backward. She placed the bag next to her and looked over at the brunette. Her hand reached into the sack and withdrew a small box that she handed to Katniss without looking at her. "What's this?" Katniss questioned warily, taking the box from her.

"Just open it, brainless." Johanna watched out of the corner of her eye as Katniss slowly opened the small box and pulled out the object inside. While she was in the Everdeen home she had found a ribbon in her mother's room, several in Prim's, and one in Katniss's. She wove them together and knotted them at the ends, making a hair tie for her. "It's just something stupid."

Katniss couldn't speak. The gift was ...so thoughtful. The colors, green, orange and blue, complemented each other and were woven into such a pretty, delicate braid not unlike the one her mother did in her hair. Her eyes went to Johanna who was fidgeting next to her, and she smiled. "It's not stupid. It's really nice. How did you learn to tie a knot like this?"

Johanna shrugged. "I sort of moved around a lot after my Games. After Snow..." Her eyes darkened. "I lived in Four with Finnick for a little while. Mags used to teach me all sorts of intricate knots. She said it was soothing." Johanna furrowed her eyebrows. "Well I think she said it was soothing. She talked like she had rocks in her mouth most of the time." Katniss expelled a laugh and nudged Johanna, returning her gaze to the gift. "Look, I'm sorry you didn't get to come with us. I didn't do it in purpose."

"No, it's okay. It wouldn't have made sense for me... for _you_ to go. And that place drags up bad memories." Memories she could barely recall at the moment. 12 felt as far away as the moon to her in Johanna's skin. "Did you feel it?"

Johanna nodded. "A little. Nothing more than what I usually feel. Guilt, loneliness, sadness." She smirked. "You're a real ball of sunshine, Everdeen."

"I could say the same for you, _Mason_," Katniss shot back with a grin. "You were right." Johanna raised her eyebrow. "When you said you couldn't be the Mockingjay because people didn't like you. You're right, they don't. It's lonely."

Johanna snorted and leaned back on her palms. Of course nobody liked her. She made no attempt to make friends. Long-lasting friendships aren't on the top of the list of things a victor needs or wants. "Surprise, surprise."

Katniss spoke slowly. "I think if they knew you, knew what you had been through, maybe they would."

Johanna's entire demeanor darkened considerably. "And you think you know me now?" She let out a short, high-pitched laugh that despite coming from Katniss's vocal chords, sounded an awful lot like Johanna. "I'm not a pity case."

Katniss sighed exasperatedly and used her free hand to place it over Johanna's. "I know you're not. I'm not saying that. I'm saying people like me because they saw what I went through; my entire life was on national television for the last year. It's not like anyone cares about me, about Katniss. It's about the Mockingjay. About the rebellion. I'm saying I understand how lonely it is, but most people don't. And I'm saying that I want to be your friend, if you'd let me."

For a moment, a fleeting moment like the flap of a bird's wing, Katniss saw the vulnerability on Johanna's features. Just as quickly as it had appeared it dissipated into smoke. "Who asked you to be friends?" she asked scathingly, sliding off the bed and out of Katniss's grasp.

"But -"

"But what?" Johanna asked, whirling around, eyes narrowed. Katniss was sure she had never looked so threatening before. It seemed like every day when she looked at herself since the switch, she looked more and more like Johanna.

"Nothing." Dr. Aurelius was wrong, Katniss thought. Johanna didn't want to be friends. "Dr. Aurelius is a stinking idiot." Her eyes widened as Johanna's gaze moved ever so slowly from the ground up to meet her.

"Excuse me?" Johanna took a step forward toward Katniss on the bed. A wave of ...something shot through Katniss and settled deep inside her stomach, then a few inches lower. "You went to the appointment with my shrink? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Katniss shrugged weakly. "It was on your schedule. I didn't say -" She cut herself off as she watched her own features contort into an anger she was sure she hadn't felt since Gale had told her 12 was gone. "I didn't say anything. And you - you're always taking baths!"

Johanna growled. "Seeing you naked is not the same as going to my fucking head doctor appointment!" She placed her hand on her forehead where she began to feel a headache forming. "What else did you do, hm? Go through my personal file? Call Snow for a play by play of how exactly he fucked up my life?"

Katniss shook her head. "I went and saw Peeta." Johanna's anger quickly flamed out. A look of concern overtook her features. She hated how quickly Katniss could cull empathy from her. "He told me to tell me - well, you really - thanks for letting him decorate the cake." Her voice cracked. "He looked much better."

"Ah shit, Everdeen." Johanna went back toward the bed and sat down, shuffling backward. Her knee was against Katniss's, touching just lightly. She inhaled a deep breath, looking across the room toward her empty bed. "I see him a little bit. Ever since the day at lunch when he, you know." Johanna made a motion with her hands like he did - the clenching and spasming. "I felt like I owed him."

"Because of the Capitol? Or the arena?"

Johanna nodded sagely. "He was coming to find you. But he found me running from Eno and Brutus and he took Brutus down. That's when the hovercraft came." Johanna put on a sardonic smile. "That's when the hovercraft came I thought we were gonna be okay." Johanna narrowed her eyes. The memory was so faint. She saw flashes of the arrow firing into the sky, piercing the arena's domed ceiling. The fire. The pain in her arm. "Fuck, Beetee needs to fix this. I want _my_ memories back." She paused. "Well not all of them."

Katniss let out a sad chuckle. "Yeah, me too. There are some I wish we could just lose." They let a pensive pause fall between them before Katniss perked up. "Except I did remember that lunch before the evaluations. When I suggested you strip for the Gamemakers."

Johanna let out a low, long chuckle that almost sounded like herself. She leaned back on her elbows and settled her gaze on Katniss. "You surprised me that day, Twelve. We had all pegged you as such a prude and yet there you were, thinking about me naked."

Katniss threw her head back in laughter and shifted so she was sitting up against the wall, facing Johanna who was stretched across the bed. "We were suggesting talents. You had no others I could see."

Johanna raised her eyebrow. "Oh? So my nudity is a talent?" Johanna whistled and smirked. "I guess we were wrong about you. You're not as pure as they think." When she thought about the training center, it usually reminded her of her torture. But in Katniss's mind, her memories, they were fresh and tinted sort of blue. For a moment she saw herself whirling the axe, lodging it deep into the malleable training surface, eyes locking with Katniss's. _Wanna play? _The shot of arousal that went straight down her abdomen to her crotch made her eyes fly open and look at Katniss.

Before Johanna could question her further a knock on the door interrupted them. "Come in," she called toward the door. Haymitch shuffled in the room, checking the hallway behind him before closing the door softly. He walked over to the two girls, looking between them. "And to what do we owe this pleasure?"

Haymitch smirked. "How are we going to play this, Katniss?" He asked, looking directly into her eyes. Johanna's eyes. They both looked at each other in alarm as he crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. "I took a trip to see Beetee today while you were in Twelve. Asked him a few questions. He was very forthcoming." They stared at him in wide-eyed silence. "Now do I have to explain to you both how stupid this is?"

"It's not her fault," Johanna replied with a roll of her eyes. Haymitch tilted his head. "I was fucking around with Volts and Katniss was trying to stop me. As per usual she was playing the hero and sticking her nose into business that did not pertain to her."

"And as usual, Johanna was causing trouble for no reason other than she's mentally deranged." Johanna shot Katniss a glare and Haymitch lifted his hands.

"I don't care whose fault it was. I just want to make sure this hasn't left this room. Do you have any idea how livid Coin would be? Not to mention, this technology? It is _very _unstable. It was so unstable even the Capitol didn't want to use it." He moved his eyes to Katniss's gray ones, knowing Johanna was looking back at him. "And you know how the Capitol values lives."

Johanna's throat bobbed and she nodded her head. "Volts knows. And Katniss's sister now." Haymitch rolled his eyes exasperatedly and Johanna placed her hands on her hips. "Oh relax. Who is she going to tell? And how would she prove it?"

"Either way, this needs to get fixed." Katniss looked over at Haymtich, sensing the unsaid words in his tone. When his pale blue gaze settled on her he grimaced. "Beetee is concerned about something he called a 'bleeding effect.' If you stay like this too long, your memories may bleed into each other and we wouldn't even know how to begin untangling them. It would be like mixing red and green paint and then trying to suck all the red out. You'd just have brown goo."

Katniss's eyes widened in panic. "What did he say? Is he close to figuring this out?"

Haymitch shrugged. "I don't know. He went on about the soul, the tangible fathoms of your subconscious and other crazy shit." He noted both girls' despondent demeanors and sighed. "But he is working on it. He's building a similar device that he hopes will reverse the process. But it's not without risk."

Johanna snorted. "What is without risk?"

"And you," he began, pointing his finger at Johanna. "You need to cut it out with the attitude. I appreciate what you've been doing as the Mockingjay but your other behavior has been a giant red flag. Coin asked me if you were on medication."

Katniss slid off the bed and nudged Johanna on the shoulder. "What have you been doing?"

"Nothing!" Johanna denied, but the faint appearance of a blush on her cheeks made Katniss grab her bicep and whirl her around to face her. "Get off me!"

Katniss looked to Haymitch. "What has she been doing?" Her voice lowered. "Is it Gale?"

Johanna cackled in laughter and wrenched her arm away from Katniss. "The handsome cousin? No. Have barely seen him, outside of Command. And lunch. And some training." She smirked devilishly. "I guess I have seen him a lot."

Haymitch stepped in between them and put his hand on Johanna's body, pushing Katniss away. Katniss he could control, even though he was looking into Johanna's eyes. He could almost see Katniss inside them. "Relax. You two need to settle down and get a hold of yourselves." He heaved a deep sigh. "Now Finnick's wedding is tomorrow night. You'll probably have some training in the morning but the rest of the afternoon is yours. Use it to keep yourselves together. Or, apart, really."

"If Johanna can stop taking ridiculously long baths," Katniss accused from around Haymitch's side.

"Aw, why? What am I gonna do? Afraid I'll uncork how tightly fucking wound up you are?" Johanna taunted, head titled to the left. Katniss lunged at her but Haymitch caught her by the arms.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell is wrong with you two? You're like two spoiled children! Get it together or I'll have you both put back in the hospital. Then you can explain to Coin what happened and say good-bye to going to the Capitol." The blond mentor shook his head as he exited their compartment, slamming the door behind him.

Johanna and Katniss stood alone in the room, shooting daggers at each other from just a few feet away. Johanna broke eye contact first, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I have to go to the Capitol," she muttered under her breath. "Even if I have to kill a crew and fly there myself."

Katniss looked up amusedly, letting a very small smile form on her lips. "At least I know I'll have a ride." Katniss recognized the look in her own eyes - truce. A few beats passed between them before she spoke. "I'm sorry about going to your appointment. I swear I didn't do it to be a bitch."

"I know you didn't," Johanna replied resignedly. Katniss raised her eyebrow in surprise. "You're not that type of person. I mean, maybe _I_ am and Volts is right, it's bleeding together but..." Her eyes couldn't hold Katniss's so she dropped them to the ground. "There's just a lot about me that he knows that I'm not sure I want you to know. At least not yet." Katniss was momentarily confused but Johanna didn't allow her time to ask a question. "I know you wouldn't do that. You're a good person. Even if you're annoying as shit like more than half the time."

Katniss chuckled and retrieved the ribbon Johanna had made for her, threading it between her fingers. "Between that compliment and the ribbon, I'm going to start to get the wrong idea about you," Katniss teased. Johanna furrowed her eyebrows. "I might start thinking you hate me a little less than you say."

Johanna laughed genuinely at this, nudging Katniss in the shoulder with her forefinger. The tension began to leave their bodies, and the room, and Johanna retreated back to her bed and sat down on the edge. "It's weird, you know, to feel how you feel when you see people. When I see Haymitch I normally feel -"

"Kind of disgusted," Katniss finished with a knowing glance.

Johanna smirked. "Yeah. I like the guy, he's good people. But the stench of alcohol and the fact that before you he was such a massive failure as a mentor makes me kinda hate him. That and him being the designer behind your tacky romance drama."

"I felt that way too. Before all this." It was hard to remember but Johanna nodded.

"I know, I feel it. When I look at him now, I sort of feel like... kind of like I'm with my father. Or maybe an uncle that's close to the family. The same way you feel about Gale." Katniss widened her eyes and Johanna waved her off. "Don't freak out it's not like I did anything. I looked at him and I didn't feel sparks. It was platonic. I thought you and the cuz were bumping uglies." Johanna stopped herself. "Well not really because shit, kid, you're way uptight. But you know, at least something."

"I really don't want to hear this," Katniss said drolly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just saying it was a surprise. Rooming with you I figured I'd have to be beating guys away from the door. Gale, Peeta, whoever. Hell, even that little mouse-voiced girl from your District speaks your praises." Katniss chortled and rolled her eyes at Johanna's scenarios. Delly Cartwright could be a little effusive. It was fair.

"What, are you jealous?" Katniss teased.

Johanna snorted. "I don't know. You're the one in my body. How does it feel?" The challenge in Johanna's eyes caught her off-guard and her body reacted strongly. She heard her heartbeat in her ears for a moment, and then felt it between her legs. It was so strong. Johanna smirked and laid down on her bed, picking up one of the scattered military volumes and losing herself in the chapters. Beetee needed to solve this soon because Katniss couldn't tell whose reactions she was feeling, but either way, something was going to happen and she was very unprepared for it.

* * *

><p>Even though Coin had forbade alcohol, somehow someone snuck a few pints of cider into the ceremony and there was even one bottle of wine. Johanna drank almost an entire pint herself and within just an hour into the dancing, she was pretty drunk. She held it together for Prim, dancing with the young girl for the cameras and even exchanging a few dances with Gale. It was the first fun time she had since probably before her own reaping. Everything since then felt like being on a train in a tunnel, waiting to emerge back into the light.<p>

Johanna found Katniss on the outskirts of the crowd, talking with Beetee. She nudged in between them and threw her arm around Katniss. "Everdeen, you're such a lightweight." She hiccuped and let out a small burp and Katniss's eyes went wide at the immediate smell of fermented fruits that went into her nostrils.

"You got me drunk?" Katniss asked in a seething whisper. "Johanna!"

"Oh relax," Johanna purred. "I won't do anything scandalous. Come dance with me." She took Katniss by the hands and rubbed her knuckles softly. The look Katniss shot her, somewhere between desire and annoyance, was strikingly familiar. Katniss pulled her hands back and shook her head. "No? Guess I'll have to find someone else." Her eyes landed on Beetee who also shook his head. "Right, Volts, like what am I gonna do? Wheel you around? I'll find someone more mobile."

Katniss rolled her eyes and continued to watch everyone dance. She desperately wanted to dance with her sister but it would be weird for Johanna to approach the young girl. And she was busy right now with one of Gale's brothers so she relegated herself to the sides of the crowd, clapping along. Her eyes scanned along the dance floor until she was stopped dead by the sight of herself - okay, Johanna, but it was still her body - dancing some sort of square dance with Cressida. The blonde director was unsure of the moves by the awkward way she positioned her body but Johanna was more than obliging. Her hand was on her hip, guiding her movements. The reaction inside Johanna's body that Katniss felt was immediate and powerful. Stronger than what she had felt being stared down in the compartment. It was as easy to identify as the sun in the sky. It was pure, straight jealousy.

Johanna giggled as Cressida finally got going with the dance. "I guess they don't teach you much square dancing in the Capitol?" Johanna teased, leading Cressida in the small circle of dancers.

She shook her head. "More like waltzing. More structured dancing," she explained, looking down at their feet and following as best she could. "Is this what you do in Twelve?"

Johanna shrugged. "I don't fuckin' know." Cressida narrowed her eyes in confusion and Johanna laughed again. "You're a rebel, right? You can keep a secret?" Cressida looked at her warily but nodded her head. Johanna leaned in, holding the side of her head against Cressida's ear. "I'm not Katniss."

Cressida pulled back. "You're... _not_ Katniss." Johanna nodded. "I think you might have drank too much. I hope President Coin doesn't know you drank this much. Or at all."

"No no no," Johanna said, shaking her head. "You're not getting it. I'm not drunk." Cressida raise a pale brow and Johanna rolled her eyes. "Okay, I am a little but that's not what I'm saying. I went into the lab that Volts works in and he had this little contraption. Me and the Mockingjay had a little incident and the thing went off in our hands. Came to and I was inside Everdeen's body."

Cressida blinked rapidly, stopping her feet on the dance floor and pulling Johanna toward the wall. Her voice lowered. "Are you telling me the truth?" Her bright eyes were large and alarmed, darting around to see if they were within earshot of anyone. Between the music and the clapping it was hard to hear anything.

"Of course I am," Johanna responded, leaning her palm on the wall and bracing her weight.

"So then who are you?"

"Johanna," she said, extending her hand in almost a handshake. "Johanna Mason, District Seven."

Cressida took her hand and shook it, confused still as plain as day on her face. "The victor who Katniss volunteered to room with." Her eyes ran around the room until she saw Johanna - or Katniss? - staring at them from next to Beetee. "And Katniss is then, inside your body?"

Johanna nodded. "Yup. Been like this a few days. Volts is working on a cure. A reversal, I guess. Something about mixing paints, I don't know." She waved her hand in the air dismissively.

Cressida placed her hand on her forehead. "Who else knows about this?"

Johanna counted off on her fingers. "Me, Katniss obviously. Volts, Haymitch somehow figured it out. And Katniss's little sister Prim." She looked at her hand. "Five people?"

Cressida sighed, taking her tongue between her teeth and tugging on it. "That explains your behavior in the meetings." Johanna pursed her lips and Cressida gave her a glower. "I thought it was out of character for Katniss to ask me if I was 'getting it on' with one of my cameramen."

"She's such a tight-ass right?" Johanna asked and Cressida offered no response, she just continued to glare at her. "Well you don't really know me, but I can assure you I'm not."

"No, I imagine the woman who offered to let me sit on her lap in front of President Coin wouldn't be as prudish."

"The offer still stands, you know." Johanna leered at Cressida who placed her hand on Johanna's sternum and pushed her back an inch or two. "When I'm back in my own body, obviously."

Before Cressida could open her mouth a hand wrapped around Johanna's bicep and turned her around. Katniss stood there, eyes aflame, glancing between the two of them. "We should probably get more footage of the Mockingjay dancing for Snow, hm?" she asked Cressida, raising her eyebrow. Without waiting for a response Katniss dragged Johanna onto the dance floor. She entwined their fingers and wrapped her arm around her waist, tugging them closer. Dalton had slowed the music down a bit but it was still somewhat lively. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? I was talking to Cressida before you rudely interrupted me." Katniss glared at her and Johanna's lip quirked upward. "You're jealous."

"What?" Katniss sputtered.

"Um, Katniss, I know what I look like when I'm jealous." Katniss scowled at her and Johanna tilted her head back and let out a small laugh. Johanna's eyes moved over to their clasped hands and saw the ribbon she had made was wrapped around Katniss's wrist. She smiled gently. "You're wearing the ribbon."

Katniss eyed the ribbon and gave Johanna a very quick, very small smile. "I'm not jealous," she mumbled unconvincingly, cheeks aflame. She wished she was in her own body as blush was easier to conceal with her darker skin. Johanna was so pale - not just genetically but also from the weeks of torture - that it was clear she was exactly as jealous as Johanna thought.

"Oh? Don't forget, Twelve, I'm inside you too. I feel what you feel when I do, oh I don't know, this?" She pulled their bodies flush together and Katniss took in a sharp intake of breath. Their bodies were so warm - her own body particularly so from all the alcohol Johanna had drank illegally - that her mind ran sluggishly as she grappled with the strange, but not unfamiliar feelings of arousal. Katniss shook her hands away and pulled out of Johanna's grasp.

"Just stop it. This is - this is not okay." She extricated herself from Johanna and walked off the dance floor. To her surprise, a hand came and grabbed her own before she could reach the crowd.

"Katniss," her voice called gently. She turned around to catch Johanna's eyes boring into her own. "All this aside," she gestured with her free hand, "I think you know that when we switch back, you and I are going to have a talk."

The context of the talk was clear - the attraction that they felt between them that Katniss was totally unprepared for. "Didn't you say you were going to have a talk with Cressida?" she teased, both to alleviate the serious look in her eyes and to deflect Johanna's intent.

It did neither. "I won my Games, brainless. I'm a victor. Do you think I'm going to settle for second-best?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Not if I have a shot at first."

Katniss's eyes widened as Johanna let her hand go and retreated back into the crowd. She was wrong. She wouldn't need one hundred years to understand Johanna, because the older girl was blatant. Katniss had just been reading her wrong and it took an entire swapping of souls for her to register what she meant.

An excited but rather unsettling feeling tumbled inside her stomach. Johanna ...liked her. Or at the very least, was attracted to her. And then the real bombshell pounded on her head as she got back to their compartment. She was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Hi all! I hope everyone has a happy holiday and a fabulously awesome new year. Thank you for all the new reviews and follows!<p> 


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